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Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Affect More than Kids' Weight
You're probably well aware that drinking sugar-sweetened beverages like sodas or sweetened fruit juices can lead to overweight or obesity through the additional calories they contain. And you're probably also well aware that those who are overweight or obese are at an increased risk of health problems ranging from diabetes to heart disease to cancer.

Added sugars may affect heart health risk factors in children
Last week I shared a meta-analysis that concluded that higher levels of sugar intake in an adult's diet were "strongly associated with higher triglycerides, total as well as LDL cholesterol (the bad cholesterol), and blood pressure." While that study was interested intotal sugars and not strictly added sugars, this week's study suggests that those effects are not limited to adults.

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Sugary Beverages and Your Health

I've been saying for years that folks should avoid drinking soda if only
because of the extra calories. In the last few years a fair bit of
research has been done on sugar-sweetened beverages and their contribution
not only to weight gain but also conditions such as Metabolic Syndrome,
gout, heart
disease, high blood pressure and poor cholesterol scores.

Recently a team of researchers at Harvard published an overview of current
research on sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity, type 2 diabetes
and other metabolic disorders in the journal Physiology & Behavior (2010;100(1):47-54).

Here are just a few highlights of the articles they mention which cite
large-scale studies:

Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Obesity

A study of over 50,000 women showed that in a six-year period, those
women who increased their intake of sugared-sweetened beverages from
at least 1 serving per week to 1 serving per day or more gained the
most weight. Those who decreased their intake gained the least.

A study of 4,000 people over 4 years showed that those who drank at least
one soft drink (sugar-sweetened or diet) were 37% more likely to
become obese than those who did not drink soft drinks.

Type 2 Diabetes and Metabolic Syndrome

A study of 50,000 women over 8 years showed that those who drank at least
one sugar-sweetened beverage per day were 40% more likely, regardless
of their weight, to develop type 2 diabetes than those who drank
less than one per month.

A study of 40,000 black women for 10 years saw those women who drank
2 or more sugar-sweetened beverages per day were 24% more likely
to develop type 2 diabetes, but this effect disappeared when the
women's weight was also taken into account.

A study of 6,000 adults over 4 years showed that those who drank at least
one (diet or regular) soft drink per day were 39% more likely to
develop Metabolic Syndrome.

High Blood Pressure, Cholesterol Scores, Heart Disease

A series of large-scale studies known as the NHS I and NHS II Cohorts
showed that women who drank 4 or more sugar-sweetened beverages per
day were 44% (in NHS I) and 28% (NHS II) more likely to develop high
blood pressure than those who drank those beverages less often.

A study of over 88,000 women over 24 years found that those who drank
at least 2 sugar-sweetened beverages per day were 35% more likely
to develop heart disease, even when other risk factors were taken
into account.

NHANES data (another long-term, large scale study), showed that a link
between high blood pressure in adolescents and the amount of sugar-sweetened
beverages they drank.

Gout, Gallstones, and Kidney Disease

High uric acid levels in the blood is a precursor of gout. Those who
drink 1-3 sugar-sweetened beverages per day were 51% more likely
to develop hyperuricemia (high uric acid levels) than those who did
not drink such beverages (this also from NHANES data).

NHS II data showed a link between sucrose consumption and kidney stones:
women who had the highest levels of sucrose in their diet were 31%
more likely to develop kidney stones than those women with the least
sucrose in their diet.

A higher intake of refined sugars, such as sucrose and fructose is also
associated with gallstones - an intake of about 40 grams of sugars
per day doubles the risk of gallstones. (A typical 12 ounce serving
of a sugar-sweetened beverage contains an average of 35-37.5 grams
of sugar.)

What this means for you

Taken altogether these findings are very concerning - and they should
be. Other studies have shown that when comparing a food snack with
a sugar-sweetened beverage, those who had the sugar-sweetened beverage
did not reduce their food intake at their next meal, while those
who ate a food snack of the same number of calories did. Further,
those who drink sugar-sweetened
beverages instead of water may actually eat more at their subsequent
meals. Water should be #1 your drink of choice, followed by unsweetened
coffee or tea.